Shrewsbury – Stephen Shamgochian successfully completed his Eagle Board of Review, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. Stephen is 16 years old and a member of Troop 158 in Shrewsbury, led by Scoutmaster Michael Harrington.
Stephen chose to do his Eagle Project at the Nativity School in Worcester, and created an after-school enrichment program called “Robotics for Life.”? The Nativity School is an accredited Jesuit middle school that provides a quality, all-scholarship education to underserved boys in grades five through eight. For six weeks, Stephen and his three assistants conducted a robotics class in which the boys at the school learned how to build and program a robot to perform specific tasks on a playing field. At the conclusion of the class, a robotics competition was held in which the boys tested their engineering skills, worked in teams, and shared their robots with their teachers and classmates. For most of the students, this was their first introduction to robotics and they fully embraced the program. Many volunteers, donations and planning were necessary for completion of this project. In fact, Stephen is back at the Nativity School working alongside students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, as a new group of boys at the Nativity School are being introduced into the world of robotics.
Stephen began his foray into Scouting when he was in first grade and has been involved ever since.? Throughout his scouting career, Stephen has enjoyed many camping trips and numerous outdoor adventures, including years of Boy Scout summer camp at Treasure Valley in Rutland, and many leadership retreats. He is now the treasurer of the Venturing Crew 2238 in Shrewsbury.
In the summer of 2011, Stephen had the opportunity to attend Northern Tier, a National High Adventure Base in Ely, Minn. The trip consisted of several days of canoeing on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, hiking and camping.? It was a challenging and rewarding adventure that he often refers to as “the trip of a lifetime.”
Scouting has taught Stephen many life skills and he is thankful for everything he has learned. He now enjoys working with the younger Scouts in the troop, teaching them many of the same skills he has acquired, and he is eager to share his knowledge.
Currently, Stephen is a sophomore at Shrewsbury High School, where he is a member of the Robotics Team and the Engineering Club. Outside of school, Stephen is an accomplished piano player and also serves as an altar server for the Armenian Church of Our Saviour in Worcester, and is an active member of the church youth organization. Stephen plans to attend college upon high school graduation, and he looks forward to studying engineering.
